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CommScope's wide-band antenna supports multiple bands, air interfaces

CommScope's Argus UltraBand ultra-wideband antenna system is designed to support nine frequency bands for major air-interface standards, which the company said could reduce the number of antennas in operators' networks and lower their tower leasing costs.

"This technology advancement is about providing a wideband antenna that supports virtually all combinations of the air interface technology--GSM, CDMA, iDen, UMTS, LTE, HSPA, WiMAX and even Wi-Fi--in bands that include virtually every frequency that is being utilized or planned for utilization in the next several years," Philip Sorrells, vice president, strategic marketing-wireless, at CommScope, told FierceBroadbandWireless in an email.

CommScope said its ultra-wideband antennas support "US700, EU Digital Dividend, US Cellular and GSM900 for the lower bands and DCS1800, PCS, AWS, 3G, and WiMax for the higher bands."

"At the top of the band, this antenna technology covers up to 2690 MHz. That additional bandwidth allows it to be used in WiMAX applications, as well as LTE and even simple Wi-Fi systems," said Sorrells.

Because UltraBand supports multiple spectrum bands, it helps future-proof operators' antenna deployments as new bands are made available by regulators over time, he added.

UltraBand employs pattern-shaping technologies developed by Argus, which became part of CommScope in 2011. The antenna system supports MIMO implementation for added capacity.

In January 2012, CommScope introduced its first ultra-wideband antenna, which can support four higher frequency bands used in cellular systems.

In other CommScope news, Canada's Hydrogenics, a developer and manufacturer of hydrogen generation and hydrogen-based power modules, announced earlier this month that it received an order from Commscope for its HyPM XR Series fuel cell power modules. Hydrogenics said the power modules will be integrated into Commscope's fuel cell cabinets as the backup power solution for hundreds of wireless sites in North America, servicing an unnamed wireless operator.